XLIX/2013/I-II Paulo Oliva nonasenariodicata
Institute for Classical Studies. Prasue
EIRENE XLIX. 2013.155-175
,,IJVEZDA'' fI{ PRAGUE
AS A CLASSICAL VILLA1 JAN BAZANT (Prague)
The builder and architect of the villa Star (Hvězda) in Prague was Archduke Ferdinand,the second son ofFerdinand I, king ofthe Romans, king of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia, Archduke of Austria. The builder was the vice-regent of the Kingdom of Bohemia from 1547 and he built the Star in 1555-1558.'z The White Mountain, on which the villa stands, was the most crucial part of the natural fortification of Prague. From time immemorial, this mountain was the gateway to the political center of the kingdom of Bohemia. Anyone who came from the Western Europe had to climb it. On the other side of the mountaintop, visitor found a far stretching valley. It leads to the Prague Castle, where the builder of the Star resided. The Star stood in the middle of a game preserve, which King Ferdinand founded in 1539.There are three gates in the wall of the game preserve, on the northern, eastern and southern sides; all oriented to the Prague Castle. The villa stands at the edge of a cliff oriented to the south-west,in order to be visible from afar (fig. 1). The Archduke designed it on the hexagram ground plan and in order that it could be seen from far away, he provided it with l
This work was supported by grant no. 1,4,,4.800090902(.Antická inspirace v českém barokním umění'') of the Grant Agency of the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic. '
on the villa Star cf. J. BaŽlNr, ..Vi||a Star in Prague'', ARS 41,2008,pp. 59_i,6;M, StuoNs, "Theatrum van Representatie?" Aartshertog Ferdinand van Oostenrijk stadhouder in Prag tussen 1547 en 1567,Amsterdam 2009; P. K.rr-rla, Praha 1437-1610,Praha 2011, pp. 97-lO1; J. CHlÍalc, Italští sochaři v českých zemích v obdobi renesance' Praha 20ll, pp. 108_117; I. P. MucHra _ I. PunŠ,..Das Lustschloss Stern in Prag und die Vi|la Lante inRom,,, Studia Rudolphina, ||, 20|I, pp. |27_132; I. P. Mucura _ I. PunŠ,..obora Hvězdď, in: P. VlČrr (ed.), Umělecképamótky Prahy' Velkó Praha A/L,Praha20|2,pp.867_872;J. BaŽeNr_N. BaŽaNrovÁ, Vila Hvězda y Praze. Mistrovské dílo severskérenesance, Praha 2013.
155
JANBAŽANT
a high roof topped by a lantern. In later years, however, the roof structure had to be changed several times. Roof of complicated structure was exposed to westerly winds, so it was often damaged and leaked to the villa.3 Location on top of the mountain and high star-shaped roof, however, were extremely vital aspects of the construction. From afar, the lavish villa Star should indicate that visitors have arrived to the main city of the Kingdom of Bohemia, one of the most prominent cities of the Holy Roman Empire. The Star was conceived as a distinctive landmark of the road leading to Prague from Slané. From Slané, the road went over Louny, Žatec andKadaň to Cheb on the western edge of Bohemia. This road was the main link between Bohemia and Western Europe.a For the first time, this ..Grand Road'' (via magna) was marked on Nicholas Klaudián's map from 1518,but it was an extremely old road. Already in the l0thcentury, Arabian merchant and diplomat Ibrahim arrived to Prague on this road and wrote the first ever report on the city. The Star evidently served primarily as a backdrop of court ceremonies. Notable guests arriving from Western Europe might be greetedhere, and the villa could serve also as their residence, as was the case with similarly situated villas in Genoa' and Mantua' These ,,a||,anticď, villas were built to provide also temporary residence for the Holy Roman Emperor, who managed from them the world. The villa Star was also imperial villa. Inside, the ceilings of all twelve rooms on the ground floor are decorated by imposing white stucco reliefs, which closely followed ancient Roman models. This highly unusual decoration gave the villa an imperial aura. One intriguing aspect, so far totally ignored in the literature on this building, is the classical inspiration of its architectural conception, to which this article is devoted. Two documents describe the creation of the villa Star and reveal its high status. The first one consists of texts of five epitaphs dated July 27, 1555.This convolute is entitled "Proposals for a summerhousebuilt by Archduke Ferdinand in Prague game preserve".sTlvo epitaphs are in Latin, three in German. It follows from them that the architect and builder ofthe villa Star was Archduke Ferdinand. The first Latin inscription informs the reader that Archduke "personally laid 3
The reconstructionof the roof was plannedalready in 1570,around 1628,new roof was constructed.After 1780,whenthebuildingwas givento the military,the roof was lowered,from c. 1850,the roof has the presentform ofa low pyramid. n Cf. F. Rouair, Silnice v Čechócha jejich vývoj, Praha 1938, pp. 12_13;F. RouaÍr,
od Starobylýchzemskýchstezekk novodobýmvozoykóm v zemíchčeskýcha na Slovensku, Praha 1948,p. 4. 5 D. ScrrÓNHenn,..ErzherzogFerdínandvon Tirol als Architekt',, Repertorium Jilr Kunstwissenschaft, l,1876,pp.28-38,reg.7l43,p. CLV. 156
down the first en in the ancie periods - J. B.. prose was mal of Bohemia, sr the building w ebrated" ("und the building ha The second plans and a cro described abov the subterranea which was orde master. A lot oÍ of great value, . hand under the After this inscr the first docume In 1591,Fyr two enclosures Stella, because house therein is visitors' reports Prague sight. In was interpreted andhe was evidr the Star served r Sidney's kin the Prague villa having, roundab ridings cut out, e 6 7
At the headoft
wien' Ósterrie< Hvězdy,,,Umění,2 8 F. MonvsoN, Tft 9 Prr.SioNr1 7že The CountesseofPe "Symbolic Architec pp. 175-180,espec English letters."
lrr.Ězoa"
IN PRAGUE AS A cLAsSIcAL VILLA
down the first stone of the building aided by Minerva's hand". The date is given in the ancient Roman style: "Three hundred and eleven lustra [i. e. five year periods - J. B.] after the birth of Jesus Christ." The epitaph written in German prose was marked as selected.6In it, the builder is characterised as governor of Bohemia, son of Roman, Hungarian and Bohemian king. It states also that the building was named "Golden Star" by Archduke Ferdinand "and thus celebrated" ("und damit geeret"). This formulation indicates that the shape of the building had a symbolic meaning. The second document is dated the following day and consists of four ground plans and a cross-section which shows the original form of the roof, which we described above (figs. 2 and3). The inscription appended to the ground plan of the subterraneanfloor is in ltalian. It reads as follows: "The house in the new park, which was ordered to be built by Principe Ferdinand, my most kind Principe and master.A lot of medals of all kinds and modern coins, all in gold and silver and of great value, were put into the foundation. His Majesty put them with his own hand under the first stone of the foundations. I was there on the June 28,1555." After this inscription, two Latin epitaphs follow, which correspond to those in the first document, but strangely we do not get the selected German text here.7 In 1591,Fynes Moryson visited Prague and noted that "the Emperor hath two enclosures walled about, which they call gardains, one of which is called Stella, because the trees are planted in the figure of starres, and a little fair house therein is likewise built, with six corners in forme of a starre".8Foreign visitors' reports reveal that in l6th century, the villa was considered essential Prague sight. In the case of Sidney, we also understand, however, how the villa was interpreted at this time. In 1575 and 7577,Sir Philip Sidney visited Prague, and he was evidently much impressed by the villa Star. In his bestseller,Arcadia, the Star served as a model for a residenceof king Basilius.e Sidney's king of Arcadia resided in a house which strikingly resembles the Prague villa: "The lodge is of a yellow stone, built in the form of a star, having, roundabout, a garden framed into like points; and beyond the garden, ridings cut out, each answering the angles ofthe lodge. At the end of one of them 6
At the headof the epitaph:"Dieses ist expediert".
7
wien, ÓsterriechischeNationalbibliothekCodex Min. l08Han. Cf. J. MoMvEr' ..Ke vzniku Hv ězdy,',Umění,2, 1954, pp' 1992|1, 8
F. Monysou,TheItinerary,I,Glasgow1907,p.30.
e
Pn. StoNrl The CountesseofPembrokesArcadia, London 1590(Quotedafter:Pn. Sronrl Thecountesseof PembrokesArcadia, [ed.]A. Founlpnar,cambridge 1912).cf. v. Srnsrrowrcz, ..SymbolicArchitecturein Sidney'sNew Arcadiď,, The Reviewof English Studies,33,|982, pp. l75_l80' especiallyp. 180:..Hvězda...has playedan enduring,ifunrecognized,role in Enelishletters."
r57
JANBAZANT
is the other,smaller lodge,but of like fashion (wherethe graciousPamela liveth); so that the lodge seemethnot unlike a fair comet whose tail stretcheditself to a star of less greatness."r0 Basilius' residencewas a house in the form of a star and colour of a star, moreover, it was situated in a park in the form of a star from which radiate alleys forming a star.rr Sidney clearly modelled the house of the Arcadian king after the Star in Prague,but he wantedhis readersto recognize Arcadian residenceas a classical villa. That is why he placed in its garden a dining pavilion located near the waterfall which was equipped with a round table. This table and the floor was separated from the rest of the room and turned around, using water that flowed underneath.r2 For this, Sidney took inspiration in Suetonius' description of the Domus Aurea in Rome of Emperor Nero, where "the main banquethall was circular and constantlyrevolved day and night, like the heavens".r3 In his book, Sidney changedthe appearanceofthe Prague building in order to assimilate it to the ideal villa which his readers knew from ancient Roman literary tradition. All three alleys, which lead to the Villa Star from the gates in the wall of the game preserve,run horizontally. But when Sidney describes the path leading to the Arcadian villa, he stressesthat the visitor does not notice that he is climbing a hill on which it is situated.Visitor realises that he climbed up the hill only in the moment when he reaches the villa, and a breath-taking view opens in front of him. It is "truly a place for pleasantnessnot unfit to flatter solitariness for it being set upon such an unsensiblerising ofthe ground as you are come to a pretty height before almost you perceive that you ascend it gives the eye lordship over a good large circuit which according to the nature of the country being diversified between hills and dales woods and plains one place more clear another more darksome it seems a pleasantpicture of nature with lovely lightsomenessand artificial shadows".ra Sidney's text clearly paraphrasesPliny the Younger's account of his villa in a letter to Domitius Apollinaris: "The contour of the district is most beautiful. Picture to yourself an immense amphitheatre,such as only Nature can create, r0 Ps. SroNel The CountesseofPembrokes,p.gl. 1r The castle of Alma in Faerie Queene had also the shapeof a star,the intersectionof a circle, square and triangle: "The frame thereof seemd partly circulare, And part triangulare, O worke divine; And twixt them both a quadrate was the base, Proportioned equally by seven and nine" (E. SrEnsEn,Faerie Queene, London 1590,quoted after: E. SrrNsen, The Faerie Queene, London 1843,p. 102).
with a wide-s themselvesco, the foot ofthe the ascent is sr yourself at the In the rest o evoke ancientr must not forge At that time, ancient Romar the ruins of He The Renaissan model as we kr Roman villa c The key to the i of Alberti, Serl and these villa Ferdinand,the r In the mid and rich builde it looked like. . concerningresi all preservedbu thesetwo differ with which anc The main ir ters of Pliny tht about his villa This informatio archítectsfollor west and domir however, the m After the positi the building itsr from the sixth h the portico, whi apartments and
12 PH. SroNel The CountesseofPembrokes,p.g2. 13 SurroNrus. Nero.37.
Pr-rNrusMrNon,
ra Pu. Sroxev, The CountesseofPembrokes,p.gl.
rbid.
158
..HVEZDA'' IN PRAGUE AS A CLASSICAI VILLA
with a wide-spreading plain ringed with hills, and the summits of the hills themselvescovered with tall and ancient forests... My villa, though it lies at the foot of the hill, enjoys as fine a prospect as though it stood on the summit; the ascent is so gentle and easy, and the gradient so unnoticeable, that you find yourself at the top without feeling that you are ascending."rs In the rest of this article, I will try to prove that the villa Star was intended to evoke ancient villa, even though today, no one would interpret it in this way. We must not forget that the villa was a brand new architectural type around 1550. At that time, Italian architects laboriously reconstructed the appearance of ancient Roman villa on the basis of descriptions in ancient literary works, the ruins of Hadrian's villa in Tivoli and imperial and Roman bath complexes. The Renaissance versions of ancient Roman villa differed significantly from its model as we know it today. When the Star was built, reconstruction of ancient Roman villa could take almost any shape that of a six point star included. The key to the architecture of the Star is not in ancient Rome but in the writings of Alberti, Serlio, and Marini and in villas inspired by their works. These works and these villas transmitted the legacy of ancient Roman villa to Archduke Ferdinand, the architect ofthe Star. In the mid sixteenth-century,ancient Roman villa fascinated intellectuals and rich builders. However, even after a century ofresearch, no one knew how it looked like. Architects collected and analysed all ancient literary mentions concerning residential architecture.They also carefully inspected and measured all preserved buildings. Nevertheless, they did not know how to match data from these two different sources. They did not know the content of even basic terms with which ancient Greeks and Romans described architecture. The main inspirations for Renaissance villas were descriptions in the letters of Pliny the Younger (AD 6l-114). In the letter quoted above, Pliny wrote about his villa in Tirscany that it is situated near the hilltop and faces south. This information was easy to understand and from the l5th century on, Italian architects followed these instructions. The Star also sits on a hill facing southwest and dominates the landscape. In the quoted letter of Pliny the Younger, however, the most crucial element of information was difficult to understand. After the position of the villa in the country had been described,he described the building itself, "Most of the house faces south; in summer it gets the sun from the sixth hour, and in winter considerably earlier, inviting it as it were into the portico, which is broad and long to correspond, and contains a number of apartments and an atrium.''ló t)
PuNrus MiNon, Epist.Y,6 (transl.J. B. Firth).
ló
rbid. 159
JANBAŽANT
What was this "atrium"? No one knew in the l6thcentury. It was clear from the context, in which the word was used that it was a key feature in the floor plan of ancient Roman house and played a prominent role in its ideology. Renaissance architects could make, however, only a vague idea of its appearance.In the bible of Renaissance architects, the Vitruvius' books on architecture (l't century BC), atrium is described extensively. Nevertheless, before the discovery of houses buried under volcanic ash in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae, Vitruvius' lengthy descriptions did not give perfect sense. It followed from Vitruvius that atrium was an attribute of upper class residences. Inside these residences,ancient Romans separatedcommon and private sections. "The common are those which any of the people have a perfect right to enter,even without an invitation: that is, entrancecourts, cavaedia,peristyles, and all intended for the like purpose. Hence, men of everyday fortune do not need entrance courts, tablina, or atriums built in grand style, because such men are more aptto dischargetheir social obligationsby going round to othersthan to have others come to them."r7According to Vitruvius the ceiling of atrium could be open, but it was not necessary.Covered atrium, he advised his readers "is employed where the span is not great, and where large rooms are provided in stories".rs In 1485.Alberti called atrium the heart of the house. The most importantpart [ofthe house]is that which we shall call the "bosom" (sinum)of the house,althoughyou might referto it as the "cavum aedium"or o'atrium"... The "bosom" is thereforethe main part of the house,acting like a public forum, towardwhich all otherlessermembersconverge;it shouldincorporatea comfortableentrance,and also openingsfor light, as appropriate. Clearly theneveryonewould preferthe bosomof his building to be a generous, open,noble,and prominentspace...In the centreof the bosomof the building shouldbe the entrancewith a vestibule;this shouldbe dignified and in no way narro%tortuous,or poorly lit. There shouldbe a consecratedchapel,immediatelyvisible,with an altar;hereany gueston entrymay makea pledgeof friendship, and here the head of the family on his returnhomemay pray to the gods abovefor peaceand calm for his family.re According to Alberti, atrium could be open or covered. He thought that covered atrium looked like central halls of ancient Roman baths. the ruins of which he
studied in Ror roofed, spacio the Etruscan l through the mi various ways, ca. Palazzo Fa from 1515, wi house. Its "atri connected witt The first sc in Poggio a Ca himself.In 148 equipped the v entered througJ hall, which is cc each other in su hall. The villa i and to this serie this villa rooms that they form a In 1492, aft< Giorgio Martin however, in ma the atrium had i the ridutto, can the centralized í a central atriurn investigation. In as atria of ancier In Italy of th "all'antica" was SebastianoSerlir on architecture,I Jacopo Strada, v
17 Vrrnuvrus,De arch. VI,5,l (transl.M. H. Morgan).
20
18 Ibid. vI,3,2 (transl.M. H. Morgan).
21
re Ar"nlrrt, D e re aedificatoria,Y,lT (L. B. Ar-nnnrr On the Art of Building in Ten Books,transl. , J. RyrwBnr - R. TevsnNon - N. LEacH, Cambridge MA 1988, p. A6).
160
Anonrr, De re a
F.Gtoncto,Thatta p. 345146; cf. L. , the Atrium of the An pp.377-416,herep.I
"HVEZDA" IN PRAGUE AS A CLASSICAL VILLA
studiedin Rome. "In the middle,as inthe centreof ahouse, thereis an atrium, roofed, spacious,and majestic;off this are rooms, their lineamentstaken from the Etruscan temple, as we have described it. The entrance to this atrium is through the main vestibule."2o Renaissancearchitectsreconstructed"atrium" in various ways, as a courtyard, vestibule,central hall with a cupola, or a basilica. Palazzo Farnese in Rome, which was constructedby Antonio da Sangallo from 1515, was considered an exemplary reconstruction of ancient Roman house.Its "atrium" was conceived as a three nave basilica which was optically connectedwith the public squarein front of the palace (fig.4). The first scientific reconstructionof ancient Roman villa was the residence in Poggio a Caiano built by Lorenzo de' Medici, who was an amateurarchitect himself.ln 1485,Giuliano da Sangallodesignedit jointly with him (fig.5).They equipped the villa with a centrally placed hall with a rich decoration,which is entered through the vestibule. Smaller rooms are grouped around the central hall, which is connectedwith them.These smaller rooms are connectedalso with each other in such a way that one can make a circle without enteringthe central hall. The villa in Poggio a Caiano was the first of Renaissancevilla "all'antica", and to this series belongedalso the villa Star in Prague. It has in common with this villa rooms groupedaroundthe central o'atrium",which are all connectedso that they form an ambulatoryof a kind (fig.6). In 1492, after three decades of study of Vitruvius, Giorgio (Francesco di Giorgio Martini) finished his second book on architecture,which remained, however, in manuscript. In this book, he designed a central villa in which the atrium had a circular or polygonal floor plan (fig. 7). "The atrium, that is, the ridutto, can be made in three ways (modi)... The third principal type is the centralized form."2lVitruvius or any other ancient author did not mention a central atrium, but Giorgio decided to fill in this "gap" by archaeological investigation.In ancientruins, he found central buildings, which he interpreted as atria ofancient houses(fig. 8). In Italy of the first half of the sixteenth-century,the idea of central villa ..all'anticď' was particularly topical problem, which occupied many architects. SebastianoSerlio incorporatedseveral designs ofthis kind in his seventhbook on architecture, which he finishedin l54l-1550 (fig.9).Themanuscriptacquired Jacopo Strada, who visited old and seriously ill Serlio in Lyon. At that time,
20 Arrenrr, De re aedificatoria,YIll,TO (L. B. Ar.nenl , On the Art, p.287). 2r F. Gtoncro, Trattatidi architetturaingegneriae arte militare,II,(ed,.)C.Mar-rlst, Mil ano 196'7, p. 345146; cf. L. Plt.r,lccurn, 'Architects Read Vitruvius: Renaissance Interpretations of the Atrium of the Ancient House", Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Sl, 1992, pp.377-416,here p. 377.
l6l
JANBAŽANT
Strada was already working for Habsburgs as an art dealer.2zHe was in close contact with Archduke Ferdinand whom he finally gave the Serlio's manuscript.23 He gave it to him probably after 1575, when he published it.24It is, however, probable that Archduke saw the manuscrip soon after Strada acquired it and thus it could be an inspiration for the villa Star in Prague. For architectural education of Archduke Ferdinand, the trips to Genoa and Mantua were no doubt as important as contacts with Strada. The connections between these cities and Prague are in no way surprising. As regards politics, Genoa and Mantua belonged to main imperial allies on the Apennine peninsula. As regards culture, these towns were traditionally the main centres which transmitted Renaissance art to Central Europe. As it was customary at that time, Archduke Ferdinand probably bought graphics or ordered copies to be made after buildings or works of art during his Italian journey. Archduke Ferdinand visited Genoa in 1551. Sumptuous Villa Doria in this city, the first reconstruction of ancient Roman villa with U shaped portico, impressed him profoundly. This is testified to by the depiction of Pero in the stucco decoration of the central hall in the Star, which closely follows the fresco of Perin del Vaga in the Hall of Roman Charity (1530-1533) in the Villa Doria.2s Even more influential were Archduke's visits to Mantua. He visited this city for the first time in 1549,on the occasion of the wedding of his sister Catherine and the duke of Mantua, Francesco III Gonzaga. In 1551,on his journey to Genoa, Archduke Ferdinand visited Mantua twice. He stayed here from July 20 to July 21. Several months later, he stopped here on his way home for three days, from December 7 to 9. The greatest impression was, of course, Palazzo Te, at that time the greatest and most luxuriously decorated villa ..all'anticď'. In 1524_1534, Raphael's pupil, Giulio Romano, built and decorated it for Federico I[ Gonzaga.2ó ..a1l'anticď', Perfectý symmetrical and fully integrated central Italian villas which were models for the Star, were the exact opposite of ancient Roman villas 22 Cf. D. J. JeusrN, "Taste and Thought: Jacopo Strada andthe Development of a Cosmopolitan Court'', in: L. KoNBČNÝ _ Š. VÁcHe (eds), Hans von Aachen in Context, Proceedings of the International Conference Prague 22-25 September 2010,Pragre2012,pp. l7l-178.
that were alw architectural h architecture la ancient Romat Romano, the at Pietro Aretino modern and m, In Mantua Gonzaga Giuli Romano desigr which was sur see a villa witl like tips of a s prising becaus France in 1541 villas with fout designs were cl a floor above (fi The closesta building which ( the ground plan It was part of the
27 Cf. H. GÚNrHpr Neuzeit, Darmstadt
28 'Anticamente r (ed), Lettere sull'ar The description wa the Erotic in Renais, 2e
25 Villa Doria, Sala della Caritá romana, cf. P. Boccenoo, Andrea Doria e le arti. Commitenza e mecenatismo a Genova,Roma 1989,p. 57,pl. XI; E. Panrrae,Perin del Vaga. L'annelo mancante, Genova 1997,p.275.
Prague, Nation Interpreting the Ren 30 Cf. R. Cerr,rpacx La corte Castiglionr pp. 19=34;'T. Thpun Romano: repertorio r a Corte Castiglioni. The monument was belongs to the comn the present owners o: Cesare Chizzoni.
26 Cf. A.Brrrvzzr,
3l
23 W. B. DrNsr,,roon, "The Literary Remains of Sebastiano Serlio", The Art Bulletin,24, pp. 55-9l, especially p. 80. MS: Ósterr. National Bibliothek Cod. ser. nov.2649,
1942,
24 S. Srnrro, Settimo libro, Frankfirt 1575. Jacopo Strada on the history of the MS: fols. A III - IIIi. The print is dedicated to Wilhelm of Rosenberg.
r62
Palazzo Te a Mantova: Atlante,Modena 1998.
Sruows (as in n. 2
*HYEZD,\" IN PRAGUE AS A CLASSICAL VILLA
that were always asymmetrical and disintegrated.Free treatmentof classical architecturalheritagewas typical for RenaissanceItaly.Paradox of Renaissance architecturelays in the fact that the more Renaissancearchitectsknew about ancient Roman architecture,the less they followed its patterns.2T For Giulio Romano,the ancientforms were always only means to implementhis own ideas. Pietro Aretino wrote that he always admired his work becauseit was "anciently modern and modernly ancient".28 In Mantua, Archduke Ferdinand could see in the collection of Duke Gonzaga Giulio Romano's drawings of villas which were never built. Giulio Romano designed several central villas with round or octagonal central court, which was surrounded by small rooms.2eOn these designs, Archduke could see a villa with four protruding wings, which are in the Prague villa shaped like tips of a star (fig. 10). Serlio elaborated similar ideas, which is not surprising because he was in contact with Giulio Romano until his departure to France in 1541.Serlio included in his seventh book on architecture several villas with four wings, which stick out from the core of the building. Serlio's designs were closer to the villa Star in that the atrium is covered and that it has a floor above (fig. 1l). The closestanalogyfor the Star in Pragueis the Stella(Star)in Casatico,the last building which Giulio Romano designedbeforehis deathin 1546.30 This tower on ground plan the of eightpointedstar,count Camillo Castiglionefinishedin 1548.3' It was part of the family residenceof the family Castiglionewhich is situatedabout
21 Cf. H. GÚNrHlx, Was ist Renaissance? Eine Charakteristik der ArchitekÍur zu Beginn der Neuzeit, Darmstadt 2009, pp. 179-194. 28 'Anticamente moderno e modernamente antico", Letter of June, 1542, in: E. Cevpsasce (ed.),Lettere sull'arte di Pietro Aretino, I-II, Milano 1957,Yol. I, letter LXLII, pp. 214-215. The description was later appropriated by Vasari, cf. B. Tnlvecatx, Taking Positions: On ÍheErotic in Renaissance Culture, Cambridge MA 2001,p.249, note 43. 29 Prague, National Gallery, Codex Chlumczansky inv. XVII A ó, fol' IV; M. TerunI, Interpreting ÍheRenaissance.' Princes' Cities' ArchitecÍs, New Haven 2006, p. 209. 30 Cf. R. Cenapacrunnr - A. Ftnnnnr, "Quattrocento e cinquecento in una residenza signorile. La corte Castiglione a Casatico", in Corti e dimore del contado mantovano, Fkenze 1969, pp. 19_34;T. Terunr (ed.),Giulio Romano, Milano 1989,pp. 526-52'|,D. Fennenr (ed.),Giulio Romano; repertorio difonti documentarie,Roma 1992,pp. 1148-1149,C. CurzzoNr(ed.),Restauri a Corte Castiglioni. Primi inÍerventi: la stanza natale di Baldassare Castiglioni, Casatico 20|2. The monument was until several years ago in the property of the Castiglioni family, now it belongs to the commune of Marcaria, which started with its restoration.I would like to thank the presentowners ofthe Casatico court for their help during my visit; special thanks are due to Cesare Chizzoni. 31 SrvoNs(as in n. 2),p. 110.
163
JANBAŽANT
28 kilometres from Mantua (figs. 12 and 13).During his stays in Mantua Archduke Ferdinand could meet the count and visit his residencein the nearby Casatico.32 The ground plan of the Stella is formed by the intersection of two squares. Similarly as the Star in Pragueo it has three floors, which are connected by a staircase situated at the eastern side. Already in 1575,the tower was rebuilt and later it was several times reconstructed. The preserved drawings indicate that up to the 18thcentury, villas in Prague and Casatico were strikingly similar because they had similarly conceived tent roofs with lanterns (figs. 14 and 15). Similarly as the Star, the Stella's interiors were also richly decoratedwith scenes from ancient Roman history, classical myths, and personifications. The Stella's architecture and its function resemble that of the villa Star in Prague. On the wall of Stella, next to its entrance is a marble plate with a family emblem and commemorative inscription. In it, the builder statesthathe is the son of the famous writer Baldassare Castiglione (1478-1529). He also mentions the most famous work of his father, The Book of the Courtier.33The tower is in a way a monument to this Renaissance bestseller.3aCamillo Castiglione returned to his family castle only occasionally, the function of the Stella was thus predominantly symbolical. He celebrated the stellar fame of the family Castiglione by a tower with the ground plan of a star. Similarly, Archduke Ferdinand built the exceptional Star in order to propagate the exceptional importance of the Habsburg dynasty and its imperial status. In order to support the imperial candidature of the King Ferdinand, two villas "all'antica" were built in Prague.35In 1538, King Ferdinand started to build a villa in the garden of the Prague Castle, the Belvedere. In 1555,his son started to build the Villa Star. In the mid fiftieth of the sixteenth-century, Ferdinand strongly hoped to become emperor. It was not sure, however, whether Emperor Charles V will give the imperial power to his younger brother. Archduke Ferdinand finished the villa Star in the year 1558, when Charles V abdicated, and his brother became Holy Roman Emperor. In the same year,
Archduke Fer On the Noven and he spent the evening. ! "all'antica" vil a performance Emperor's da; opened the se<
In 1555-155 Archduke Ferd FerdinandI, K chitectureof tl nal groundplar a centrally-pla connectedso th
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32 We know that Archduke Ferdinand and count Camillo Castiglione were both present at the marriage of Archduke's sister Eleonora and Gugliemo Gonzaga Mantua in 1561. Cf. A. Anruvesntn, I grandi apparati, le giostre, l'imprese e i trionfifatti nella citd di Mantova' nelle nozze dell illustrisimo et eccelletissimo signor duca di Mantova, Mantova 15ól. 33 Cf. P. Bunrs, The Fortunes of the Courtier. The European Reception of Castiglione's Cortegiano, University Park PA 1995. 34 Camillo engaged intensively in 1582 edition of his father's book' cf. G. RpgsccrilTÝr,Private Collectors in Mantua 1500-1630, Roma 2002, p. 132. 35 In 1502-1503, Wladislaus II ofBohemia and Hungary built the first suburban villa in Prague, cf. J. KurrraN, Królovské dílo za Jiřího z Poděbrad a dynastie Jagellonců, I: Král a šlechta, Praha 2010, pp. 126-127.
164
36
Cf. J. BeŽaN1P
"I:Iv.ĚzDA"IN PRAGUE AS A CLASSICAL VILLA
Archduke Ferdinand solemnly welcomed his father as Emperor in Prague. On the November 8 at the midday, Emperor arrived to Prague from the south, and he spent the rest of the day in Prague, where festivities ended late in the evening. The next day in the evening, Emperor opened the just finished "all'antica" villa Belvedere in the garden of the Prague castle, in front ofwhich a performance of Gigantomachy show was performed.3óWe do not know what Emperor's day program was on the November 9, but it is probable that he opened the second villa "all'antica" in Prague, the just finished villa Star.
Summary In 1555_1558,the villa Hvězda (Star) in Prague was designed and built by Archduke Ferdinand, vice-regent of the kingdom of Bohemia and the son of Ferdinand I, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor from 1558.The architecture of the villa is highly unusual, because it is designed on a hexagonal ground plan. Nevertheless,it was modeled on Italian villas "all'antica".It is a centrally-planned building with rooms grouped around a central "atrium", all connected so that they form a kind of ambulatory. Keywords: villa; Renaissance;Bohemia; Prague;villa Star (,,Hvězda,,) JAN BAŽANT, Institute for Classical Studies' Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Na Florenci 3, 11000 Praha l, Czech Republic,
[email protected].
36 Cf. J. BaŽnNr, Pražský Belvedér a severská renesance,Praha 2006.
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Fig. 1. The Star facing south west, to the road connecting Prague with Western Europe. Engraving from 1737.
166
Figs.2-3.Archdu point is orientedto 1 Europe
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Figs' 2-3' Archduke Ferdinand,plans ofthe cellar and a cross-sectionofthe Star. The upper point is oriented to the south-west, in the direction to the road connecting prague with Western Europe. Document with the inscription in Italian out.a lurrJ2s, isss.
167
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Fig. 5. Giuliano da Sangallo, the villa in Poggio a Caiano, 1480-1485(presentstate).
Fig. 6. Archduke Ferdinand, plan of the ground floor of the Star. Document with the inscription in Italian dated June 28. 1555.
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Figs. 12-13. Giulio Romano, Stella in Casatico, 1546-1548.The ground plan and cross-section of its presentstatewith the hanging corridor connecting it with the palace building, the ice cellar built in the ground floor and the rebuilt top floor.
174
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Fig. 15.F. B. werner, the Star in prague with the high roof and lantern.view from the main road. Engraving, c. 1740.
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